Tag: Trending
Take This: Win a Pair of Tickets To See Gang of Four at The Fonda
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 20, 2025
Gang of Four will return to Los Angeles for their Long Goodbye Tour Stop at The Fonda on May 28th and we have a pair of tickets to giveaway. See below or on Instagram for details. In 2024, Gang of Four embarked on their “The Gang of Four: The Return of the Gang of Four” tour, featuring King, Burnham, and Allen together for the first time since 1981. Now in 2025, the band has announced what they’re calling their Long Goodbye Tour, a final worldwide celebration of their music and legacy. This farewell tour delivers 2 sets of emotionally charged performances. Set 1 is the Gang of Four album Entertainment! in it’s entirety, with set 2 delivering the best of the rest with deeper cuts and personal stories reflecting on their 45-year journey. related: Photo Recap- Gang of Four at The Roxy Janky Smooth is giving away a pair of tickets to one winner to see Gang of Four on their Long Goodbye tour stop at The Fonda Theater. You can buy tickets HERE Or to Enter: Follow @JankySmooth on Instagram Like the original Gang of Four Giveaway Post in our feed. Tag a Friend Winner Will be announced Tuesday,
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Cruel World 2025 At The Rose Bowl: We’re Only Happy When It Rains
Rob Shepyer
May 20, 2025
Cruel World 2025 at the Rose Bowl was the fourth iteration of the festival, but some strange alignment in the distant goth cosmos caused a number of firsts in Cruel World history. Rain fell on Los Angeles’ goth community as they all gathered at the Rose Bowl for what music fans recognize as goth prom. Cruel World is much more than a goth fest, though—’80s music, metal, and punk all performed in gloomy Pasadena over the weekend. Never before did the concertgoers, wearing their finest layers of black, actually dress appropriately for the weather—until now. Some came to Cruel World to see Devo “Whip It” like it was 1980, some came to be in the palm of Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand”, others came just to get a one-day vacation with New Order before “Blue Monday. Whatever the motivation, the festival once again found appropriate meaning in its name. This year it was cold and dreary, with imported London fog infused with LA smog. Most people prefer not to experience a concert drenched from head to toe, but as a departure from the brutal heat of previous years, it had some upsides. The rain forced many Cruel Worlders looking for shelter
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Model/Actriz at The Roxy: A Queer Sermon in Noise Rock
Taylor Wong
May 16, 2025
I first stumbled into the world of Model/Actriz by accident. It was a few years back at Sound & Fury Fest, and I was assigned to shoot them. I didn’t know their name, didn’t know the music, didn’t know what I was about to walk into. I just knew I had a lens in my hand and a job to do. What I got instead was a conversion. Right out the gate, they hit the stage with a mix of post-punk, industrial noise-rock, and pure unfiltered gay energy. The kind that doesn’t ask for permission. The kind that vogues and spits and bleeds. Cole Haden—Model/Actriz’s frontman and spiritual conjurer—was bouncing across the stage like a punk rock ballerina. Limbs flying, chest heaving, eyes wild. And then, mid-set, he leapt into the crowd and performed most of the set among us, singing to our faces, brushing against shoulders, dissolving the barrier between performer and observer in a way I hadn’t seen since… ever. That show stuck with me. And like all things that feel a little too intense to be real, I wondered if I’d built it up in my head over time. Cut to last night at the Roxy Theatre
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Take This: Win Two Tickets to L.A. Witch at The Lodge Room 05/23
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 15, 2025
We are giving away a pair of tickets to the L.A. Witch tour stop at The Lodge Room on May 23rd, 2025. Details below… Last time we caught up with L.A. Witch was at the Palladium in Hollywood supporting Janes Addiction and it just re-sparked our love for the band. On May 23rd we’ll get to see them in the preferred environment- an intimate gathering at an iconic venue in the city where they formed. related: Jane’s Addiction- Hollywood Royalty at The Palladium L.A. Witch embarked on a North American tour starting April 19, 2025, with performances in cities including New Orleans, Houston, Austin, and their hometown of Los Angeles at The Lodge Room in Highland Park. They are also set to tour Europe in the fall, with dates across Portugal, Spain, France, and the UK. For fans and new listeners alike, L.A. Witch’s 3rd full length, DOGGOD offers a compelling blend of haunting melodies and introspective lyrics, solidifying L.A. Witch’s place in L.A. Music Scene lore, once and for all. To Enter Our L.A. Witch Ticket Giveaway… Follow our instagram account @jankysmooth Tag a friend Winner will be announced Wednesday, May 21st at Noon Pacific. Good luck!
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Oneohtrix Point Never at The Wiltern: Post-Post-Modern Music
Rob Shepyer
May 13, 2025
Oneohtrix Point Never at the Wiltern wasn’t an ordinary concert — it was a creative breakthrough into a new form we were all indulged in. I remember being in a film class about postmodernism and asking my professor what movement was supposed to come after. The professor’s answer was “hyperreality”, which — if you’re familiar with it from painting — is a style that almost perfectly maps onto the real world… almost. Although it’s a bit difficult to imagine what hyperreality looks like in music or performance, Oneohtrix Point Never’s show at The Wiltern was an experimental leap ahead of postmodernism, and either a sidestep from hyperreality or a pastiche of it. During the show, a live puppeteer mimicked Oneohtrix Point Never’s performance, with the puppet’s antics projected live on a screen behind OPN. Seeing the duality between man and puppet provided layers of meaning to OPN’s performance, making it an autobiography in the form of a concert. For those not in the know, Oneohtrix Point Never is the pen name of electronic musician, producer, and film composer Daniel Lopatin. His rise to acclaim came in increments before his signature sound became undeniable — notably when featured in Safdie Brothers
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King Tuff Is Leaving Los Angeles: A Final Farewell at the Lodge Room?
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 10, 2025
Los Angeles, get ready to say goodbye to one of the city’s most beloved rock ‘n’ roll weirdos. Kyle Thomas aka King Tuff is bidding farewell to the City of Angels with a final hometown performance at The Lodge Room in Highland Park on Wednesday, May 15, 2025. As part of what’s being called a celebratory send-off rather than a swan song, this show promises to be a psych-fuzz-reverb drenched night of gratitude, good vibes, and garage-glam magic. related: King Tuff and The Shrine In Venice for Red Bull Sound Select Tickets for King Tuff’s farewell LA show are going fast, and for good reason: this isn’t just another tour stop—it’s the end of an era for fans who’ve followed his journey from lo-fi beginnings to Sub Pop success. Whether you’ve been spinning Was Dead since 2008 or fell in love with the introspective shimmer of 2023’s Smalltown Stardust, this Lodge Room date is a rare chance to experience the full spectrum of King Tuff’s sound one last time in his hometown. Why This Show Matters This isn’t just a concert—it’s a transmission from a singular creative force. Over the years, King Tuff has helped shape LA’s indie-psych-rock landscape with
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Sex Cells and We’re Buying- somewhere south of Hollywood Blvd
Danny Baraz
May 7, 2025
Somewhere in the heart of Hollywood on Wilcox, in a club/venue I have never entered before, Sex Cells re-emerged from it’s hiatus hole, to return to us a provocative buffet of fetish culture, avant-garde/smutty art, and self-expression. Out of the birth canal of Danny Fuentes, the L.A raised freak show turned ambassador and the individual behind Lethal Amounts gallery (but not in the alley). Sex Cells transcends traditional club nights, offering a haven for those who revel in the unconventional but fiercely protective against any potential spectators looking for a freak show or a glimpse of t&a+D. Danny Fuentes: the PT Barnum of rare humans but unlike that circus, exploitation is consensual. Lethal Amounts has long been a stalwart advocate for counterculture. If Lethal Amounts had any over arching theme, it would be that. Fuentes has curated exhibitions that delve into once taboo subjects in the mainstream- satanic rituals and serial killers and of course, forwarding and celebrating all the divine, aesthetic and historical culture that has brought the queer community to it’s current paradigm all across the world . This is our vanilla. His commitment to showcasing the extremes of human experience is evident in the gallery’s diverse array of artists,
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Death or Glory Fest Giveaway-Guess The Mystery Headliner???
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 7, 2025
Death or Glory Music & Tattoo Festival is the newest kid on the festival block and its buzz has already made a huge splash. With the very first San Diego performance of Detroit hardcore legends, Cold as Life, they are going to host a performance West Coast Hardcore Kids have dreamt about ever since the band reunited. Hosting one of hardcore’s most notoriously badass bands isn’t all that’s causing chatter in the scene though. The festival already has a diverse lineup of bands within the hardcore and hardcore punk genres, giving audiences a taste of every vibe out there today. Add a tattoo convention and San Diego Harley Davidson for the venue, and you have one of the most insane and hardcore cocktails that will ensure this fest will go down in So-Cal history. Oh but that’s not all. One of the headliners of this baby hasn’t even been revealed yet. Followers on the festival’s instagram got a sample of the fest’s lineup but came away with more questions than answers. Namely, who else is headlining Death or Glory??? Well, fans will find out eventually but if you can predict who’s going to be on the next lineup announcement in
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Model/Actriz- Pirouette: Bend Bodies/Break Brains/New Album
Danny Baraz
May 5, 2025
Boston-forged and Brooklyn-based post-punk provocateurs Model/Actriz returned to us on May 3 with Pirouette (True Panther Records), the feverishly anticipated follow-up to their blistering 2023 debut, Dogsbody. Known for their physical, feral live shows and vocalist Cole Haden’s magnetic, almost confrontational presence, Model/Actriz are back to twist the knife even deeper—dance or die. The first time I became aware of Model/Actriz was in 2017 when I was invited to see another friend’s new band at the Hi- Hat in Highland Park. I missed my friends’ band but I did NOT miss Model/Actriz. I knew, then and there, that I had witnessed something special there and instantly the bands’ first EP- “NO” became a classic in my catalog. related: The Next Wave of Sound- Model/Actriz at The Hi Hat While their follow up EP, AVA did not hit as hard for me, it served as a laboratory for their first full length 2023 release- Dogsbody. Where Dogsbody introduced the band’s vicious fusion of noise rock, industrial grooves, and sweaty club tension, Pirouette sharpens their edge without losing any of the body-moving chaos. Produced with a tighter, cleaner mix that never loses its grit, the record still slithers and screams with the
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Swing Heil: Anti-Fascist Hardcore Punks Swing Kids Return to Los Angeles
Rob Shepyer
May 4, 2025
Swing Kids have reunited. They already brought their abrasive, unhinged brand of hardcore punk to San Diego, and now, they’re heading up a few hours north to make a statement at Highland Park’s Lodge Room. Justin Pierson has always been political, even in his most oddball musical projects but when leading Swing Kids, performances become political strikes. Swing Kids was a band that came together with a purpose. Using the model of swing and jazz bands that performed under a specific ethical code, they fueled their hardcore punk with the collective fists of the Anti-fascist movement. SWING HEIL! They began in the 90’s when politics was perhaps less salacious, but just as disgusting and repressive. To counter the bombast and gall of the current administration’s messaging, Swing Kids have plugged back in. SWING HEIL! Swings Kids isn’t just a band, it’s a movie, and it’s a real life phenomenon during a time when the backdrop to music was institutionalized holocaust, racism, and propaganda everywhere to bury freedom of thought and spirit. Today, Swing Kids reunited at a strategic moment, where to combat a new fascism they contribute to the new anti-fascism. SWING HEIL! Take a look at the documentary they
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Obituary At The Bellwether: 35 Years of Cause Of Death
Danny Baraz
April 30, 2025
This past Saturday, April 26th, in the year of our Lord, 2025, Obituary, along with Nails brought their tour celebrating 35 years of Cause of Death to The Bellwether in Downtown Los Angeles. Tampa Florida’s Obituary released their second album, Cause of Death in 1990—35 years ago. I was a freshman in high school. I had never heard anything like it and I found out pretty quickly that NO ONE else had heard anything like it, either. My teenage feelings of suffering and despair and confusion and anger finally had a soundtrack. I was just getting into thrash metal and hardcore punk and picking up a guitar for the first time. My preferences leaned toward frenetic chaos with a high bpm. Fast and hard. But Obituary and Cause of Death showed me a new way—grinding, low tempo, heavy riffs that slowly dragged bodies across the floor. Sludgy breakdowns building to blast beat eargasms that changed my life forever. Slayer and others showed them the way but it was Cause of Death that had that mix of thrash and sludge that really got me off. That cassette lived in my Walkman for a good 3 months, uninterrupted. It formally introduced a
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Teen Mortgage and Spoon Benders Tear Zebulon Apart – Night One Recap
Taylor Wong
April 29, 2025
If there was any doubt that raw, snarling rock n’ roll is alive and breathing fire in 2025, Teen Mortgage and Spoon Benders came to Zebulon the other night and left no survivors. Zebulon was packed to the absolute brim — a heaving, sweaty mass of bodies smashed together like a human ocean. People were bouncing off the walls (literally). It was the first of two sold-out nights, and the energy felt less like a “show” and more like a full-scale uprising. Spoon Benders kicked things off, and damn, if they didn’t blow the doors clean off. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Spoon Benders have been steadily building a name for themselves since forming in 2019. With roots in the Pacific Northwest’s rich DIY scene, they’ve gained a reputation for their blistering live shows and experimental approach to psych-rock. Their sound pulls from a range of influences — a little Dead Meadow haze, a bit of Ty Segall grit, and a touch of doom-laden groove reminiscent of early Black Sabbath. Songs like “Dichotomatic” rattled the bones of everyone crammed inside. Every note felt jagged and alive, like a sonic landslide tumbling over the crowd. If you weren’t moshing, you were probably
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